Category: Entertaining Ideas

Grilling season is here!! Don’t you just love it when you’re driving or working outside and can smell the amazing aroma of someone grilling out? One thing that screams summer in our house is cooking on the grill! Many nights for dinner and on the weekends we are making meals on the grill.

I am a big fan of ribs as well as barbecue. Actually, when my husband and I travel, we like to find different BBQ restaurants to try out. We have been to so many awesome ones!

We like to make different kinds of barbecue meals at home too and on the grill! Barbecue ribs are definitely a family favorite in our house! All of our kids like them, so ribs go over very well.

This recipe for barbecue ribs gives you fall-off-the-bone ribs that are deliciously packed with the smoky, barbecue flavor of summer. Recipe makes about 2 cups of barbecue sauce.

Barbecue Ribs

Ingredients

4-5 lbs. baby back pork ribs (approx.)

Your favorite rub (I use Dairy Good BBQ Rub)

1 C. red wine vinegar

1/2 C. hot water

1/2 C. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. papirika

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. ketchup

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 Tbsp. Clabber Girl Corn Starch mixed with 1/2 C. cold water

Directions

Put ribs out on a large baking sheet. Generously apply rub to both sides of the ribs. Place the ribs on the grill and cook until tender, but not falling apart, about 1 to 1.5 hours, make up the barbecue sauce, while they are cooking.

Mix the Clabber Girl Corn Starch with the cold water and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, combine the water and brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, including the corn starch mixture, and mix together well. Bring the mixture back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes uncovered. Remove from heat and cool at room temperature. The sauce will then thicken.

About 20 minutes before the ribs are cooking, brush the barbecue sauce to both sides of the ribs. Layer on a heavy amount for extra barbecue flavor. Remove ribs from grill and enjoy.

To avoid getting a grey ring around the yolks of your eggs, follow this cook method: cover eggs with cold water in a pot, bring to a boil, turn the heat off and cover for 14 minutes, plunge eggs into an ice bath until cool.

Salmon Dill Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

12 hard-boiled eggs

8 oz. salmon filet

1 Tbsp. fresh minced dill

1/2 C. mayonnaise

1 tsp. Kosher salt

Instructions:

Salmon

In a large, straight-sided skillet, bring 3 C. of water to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Gently place salmon filet into the simmering water. Cover and cook until salmon is opaque throughout.; about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove salmon from the pan; remove the skin and allow to cool. Flake salmon into small chunks.

Filling

With a paring knife, slice each egg in half lengthwise and remove yolk. Place yolks in a medium mixing bowl. With your hands or a fork, mash egg yolks until finely crumbled. Add dill, mayo and salt and mix well. Add flaked salmon. gently stir to combine;being careful not to break up the salmon too much.

Stuff Eggs

Using a small spoon or piping bag, fill each egg half with about 1 Tbsp. of salmon filling.

The most significant part of the hot cross buns is the cross itself baked into the roll. Perfect for Easter….but really delightful any time of the year!

I love making bread at home so I’m looking forward to making these more often! You really can’t beat homemade breads and buns! My favorite part is while they are still warm, splitting the bun in half and smearing butter on both pieces. It instantly melts and tastes so so good!

The hot cross bun is not too heavy so its great enjoyed as a side with dinner, or for breakfast! Or anytime really….I’m snacking with one right now as I write.

Homemade Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients for Homemade Hot Cross Buns

3/4 C. milk, warmed

1 pk dry active yeast, 2 1/4 tsp if using bulk

1/4 C. sugar

1 large egg, beaten

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. Clabber Girl Baking Powder

7 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

3 C. flour, divided within recipe (plus extra for work surfaces)

1/2 C. raisins

Ingredients for the crosses

1/4 C. water

1/3 C. flour

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Ingredients for the glaze

1/4 C. sugar

4 Tbsp. water

Directions for Homemade Hot Cross Buns

In a medium mixing bowl or a stand mixer combine the warm water and the yeast. Mix until dissolved. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Add the sugar and egg to the bowl and mix until combined.

Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, salt, melted butter, baking powder and 1 1/2 cups of the flour and mix on low speed with the dough hook.

Add the remainder of the flour and the raisins and continue to mix. The dough will start to form a ball and pull away from the sides.

Remove dough, form into a ball and place in bowl that has been lightly greased with oil. Cover the bowl with a towel or plate and sit to rise for 1 hour. The dough will double in size.

After dough has risen, transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and press it down flat to take the air out. If dough is a little too dry, add a teaspoon of water and work it in.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into small balls by rolling with your hand against a surface using a circular motion.

Place the 12 dough balls onto a lightly greased baking tray or use parchment paper in a 3 x 4 formation. Leave some space between the buns so they can rise more to touch each other.

Let rise for 15 minutes before adding the crosses.

While the buns are rising, prepare the ingredients for the crosses.

In a mixing bowl, add the water, flour, and vanilla, and whisk together. It will have a thicker wet consistency, holds it shape, but thin enough to pipe.

Transfer the flour mixture into a piping bag or plastic bag with the tip cut off.

After the buns have been rising for 15 minutes, carefully pipe the flour mixture across each buns in both directions to form a cross. The cross will bake into the buns.

Bake at 425° F. for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

While the buns are baking make the glaze by bringing the sugar and water to a boil in a pot. Simmer until a syrup is formed.

Glaze the buns as soon as they come out of the oven and let sit to cool.

I am counting down the days until my favorite holiday, Independence Day! Before we cue the fireworks and break out the grill, I wanted to find the perfect 4th of July dessert to bring to our family cookout. I searched the Clabber Girl recipe archive and chose these five gems! Each one is red, white or blue and will be a crowd pleaser. Now the only thing left is to decide which one to make!

These bars look very easy to make and I love that the recipe calls for fresh blueberries! For a bar that sports red, white and blue colors, I would use 1.5 cups strawberries and 1.5 cups blueberries for the filling and then top it off with whipped cream.

For the filling: In a medium saucepan combine blueberries, sugar, water, Clabber Girl Corn Starch and salt. Cook at medium heat about 10 minutes or util thickened. Set aside.

For the dough: In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and Clabber Girl Baking Powder. Cut in margarine with pastry cutter. Stir in brown sugar and rolled oats.

To assemble: Press half of dough mixture into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Pour blueberry mixture on top; top with other half of flour mixture. Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes, until top is slightly browned. Cool before cutting into bars.

I love how simple and pretty this dessert looks! Since it calls for the cake to be cut into stars, I can use my star cookie cutter and alternate the star orientation so that there isn’t much wasted cake. I could serve these in mason jars as individual parfaits. This would also be cute to make as a layered cake in a 9×13-inch casserole pan. I could layer the fruit on the bottom, whipped cream dolloped on next and the sponge cake on the top layer. This would allow the fruit to show through the slices of cake and be easy to serve up to a large crowd.

For the stars: Grease and flour a 15 x 10-inch sheet pan, preheat oven to 375° F. Beat eggs until light and lemon-colored; add sugar gradually, beating until mixture is very thick. Add the orange juice and mix until blended. Sift together flour, Clabber Girl Baking Powder and salt. Add to the mixture, mixing only enough to blend smoothly. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack and cool completely. Turn out onto waxed paper. With a 2-inch star cutter, cut out star shapes. Keep cuts as close together as possible. Store shapes on a flat surface until ready to assemble.

Berries: Wash fresh berries; hull and slice any strawberries that you might have.Toss berries with 1 cup sugar. Refrigerate for approximately 1 hour.

To assemble: Place approximately 1 cup berries in each dessert bowl or plate; decorate with a dollop of whipped cream and about 3-4 stars. You can also add red, white or blue sprinkles as a finishing touch for a more festive garnish. Serve immediately.

Homemade ice cream is a summer favorite of mine! It’s even better with fresh strawberries and blueberries for a tangy and sweet, yet creamy, dessert. Even a sprinkle of red, white and blue candies could help make this festive for Independence Day.

In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, gradually whisk one cup of the milk into the Clabber Girl Corn Starch until the corn starch is dissolved. Whisk in the remaining milk, cream and sugar. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is simmering and slightly thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl set in a larger bowl of iced water. Stir in the vanilla. Let sit, stirring frequently, until completely chilled. Pour the mixture into the container of an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturers instructions. Transfer the frozen ice cream to a large, airtight container. Cover and freeze until firm and set, about 4 hours. Serve frozen.

I think this would be the perfect pie to bring to a 4th of July party! If you haven’t had rhubarb before, it looks a little like celery, but don’t worry, it tastes nothing like celery and isn’t as fibrous. Sweet strawberries are the perfect compliment to rhubarb, which can be slightly sour. I love pairing these together in a flaky pastry, then topped with a dollop of whipped cream.

Directions:Pie crust:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the chunks of cold butter and mix the butter into the flour using a pastry blender. Continue to do this until the mixture looks like bread crumbs or small pieces of butter. Add the cold water and stir it into the mixture so that it all sticks together. Clump the dough all together to form a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. You want the dough chilled and cold, but not hard.

Roll out the dough to a 13 inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Save some dough for your top lattice strips. Lay the circle of crust dough in your greased pie dish. Roll out the remaining dough and cut into 1 inch wide strips for the lattice top and leave aside until fruit in the pie crust.

Pie Filling:
Whisk Clabber Girl Corn Starch together with 1/4 cup water until well blended. Combine with the rhubarb and sugar in a medium pot and heat until thickened. Then add to strawberries. Add the vanilla and stir all together. Then let sit for about 30 minutes for your filling to thicken. Pour the fruit mixture into the pie crust. Add the butter chunks on top.

Arrange the crust strips in a lattice pattern over the fruit mixture and press the strip ends into the crust. Brush the egg whites onto the top of the crust strips and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400° F. for about 35 minutes or golden in color. Let cool for filling to settle and thicken.

This recipe was submitted by a fellow Clabber Girl employee and it is a recipe box staple! This is one of the rare kinds of sugar cookie recipes that don’t require refrigerating the dough prior to cutting out shapes. If you need a last minute dessert that looks like you spent hours on, bake away, friends! You can top the cookies with sprinkles prior to baking or frost and sprinkle after baking. Either way, these are fun and taste great! They’re the perfect finger food for tiny hands at your 4th of July party.

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, salt, Clabber Girl Baking Powder and sugar. Cut in butter until fine. Add the slightly beaten egg, cream (or evaporated milk), and vanilla. Roll out dough on slightly floured surface. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut out with cookie cutters and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° F for 5 to 8 minutes until edges just start to brown. Makes 2 to 3 dozen cookies, depending on the size of cookie cutters used. From the Clabber Girl Recipe Book “RECIPES TO WARM THE HEART”- Submitted by Sherry Wood.

Relax this summer by sitting out on the patio, with an iced coffee in hand, enjoying reading a book and soaking up some sunshine. Doesn’t that sound great! Making a cold coffee at home can be simple and easy. Enjoy your favorite coffee flavor, creamy from the milk, and a little sweet from the whipped topping.

Here is a tasty iced coffee recipe found in the Rumford Complete Cookbook. Iced Coffee in Perfection is on page 214 in the 1908 cookbook.

Directions:
Fully prepare and chill coffee for it to be cold. Have milk fully chilled as well. Blend together in a pitcher and mix well. When serving, add the cracked ice. Top off with a large dollop of whipped topping. Sprinkle over top each glass with the cinnamon.
Perfect in a coffee mug……

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl beat one cup of the sugar with the butter to bring to a cream. Add the eggs, 1/2 of milk and vanilla. Mix together well. Add the flour and baking powder to the mixture and beat them into the other ingredients. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, add the remainder of the sugar and milk and the chocolate squares. Cook until chocolate is dissolved, stiring occassionally. Add the chocolate mixture to the cake batter and beat together well.
Bake in a loaf pan at 350° F. for 1 hour.

While mixture is still moist, put a small amount of mixture into your hand. Take one plastic gold coin and place in the middle of the mixture. Continue to pat mixture in hands until a medium rock shape forms and the gold coin is hidden.

Cover a cookie sheet or flat surface with parchment paper. Please rocks on top of parchment paper to dry overnight.

After rocks have completely dried, do with them what you wish! We thought it would be fun to hide these in the yard and have children search for them. You could also simply use these as a quick kitchen table experiment.

Using another clean large bowl, fill with vinegar until bowl is 2-quarters full. One at a time, drop Rainbow Rocks in and wait for the surprise.

There are so many ways to celebrate the SuperBowl, but we think there’s no better way than cheering your team on with a warm bowl of chili at your side! Just as there are many ways to celebrate SuperBowl Sunday, there are numerous ways to prepare chili. We’ve searched our archives and found six totally different chili recipes for you to try out. Ranging from spicy hot to vegan zucchini, each is unique in its own way. All recipes include our special chili seasoning recipe, which you can add to taste.

Coat the diced meat with 1/4 cup of the Chili Seasoning. In a large braiser, heat the olive oil and add the seasoned beef. Brown on all sides. Add the onion, garlic and the fresh chilies and sauté until the onions are soft. Add the Tequila and cook until liquid is reduced by half.

Add tomato products and beef broth and bring to a boil then turn down to a high simmer. Simmer until meat is tender. Adjust seasoning as desired. Finish with lime juice and chopped cilantro.

Combine the chicken, half the onion and enough water just to cover. Simmer for 1 hour and transfer the chicken to a plate. Boil the broth until it is reduced to 4 cups. Discard the skin and bones from the chicken and chop the meat coarsely.

In a large saucepan, cook the remaining onion, green peppers and garlic in the oil, stirring over moderate heat until golden. Stir in the chili seasoning and cook for 1 minute. Stir in 3 cups of the broth, the chicken, cumin and pepper and simmer the chili for 30 minutes.

In a skillet, brown sausage and onion. Crumble sausage until it is in very small pieces. When sausage is brown, drain grease and add to large stock pot. Add remaining ingredients and cook on medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Turn down heat to simmer and cook at least 2 hours.

Every family has its own holiday traditions, and each year new favorites are discovered and requested the following year. This year, I decided to try pumpkin pie in three ways: pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin cake and a standard pumpkin pie.

As a kid, we always had Thanksgiving at my Aunt Dixie’s house. Pumpkin pie was the epitome of Thanksgiving to me. We enjoyed it only once a year and any other pumpkin pie would always be measured against her perfect recipe. This pie was so good that all of us kids would eat slice after slice. We’d all run around outside, make extra room for pumpkin pie, then come back in to eat more. It was a fun tradition that I get to see the next generation of kids in our family do today. I wanted to share my Aunt’s pumpkin pie recipe with her permission. She isn’t sure where she got the original recipe, but she’s been making it for Thanksgiving for decades. Every time she makes it, she uses the recipe as a general guideline, making small changes here and there. But every time, it comes out as the best pumpkin pie recipe ever.

Recipe #1: Aunt Dixie’s Pumpkin Pie

This pumpkin pie is perfectly spiced-just the right amount of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg that aren’t overwhelming for younger palates. You can make this pie ahead of time, freeze it a couple of weeks and then bake it the day before Thanksgiving when you need it. When you pair the pie filling with a homemade pie crust, it is the best pumpkin pie ever. The crust is flaky and slightly puffed from the addition of baking powder. I like to use up any leftover crust to make little sweet treats. I just cut shapes out of the pie dough, top with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. The pie crust bites can be baked simultaneously with the pie, just remove after 10 minutes or when the edges turn golden brown.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs with some pea-size pieces of butter. Gradually stir in enough of the water for the dough to clump together. Gather up the dough and form into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled but not hard, 1-2 hours.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 1/8-inch thick round. Transfer to a 10-inch pie dish, trimming the dough to a 1/2-inch overhang around the edges of the dish. Tuck the overhang under the dough on the rim and flute the edges.

To prepare the filling:

Mix ingredients in order. Pour into uncooked pie crust and bake at 425° F. for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350° F. and continue to bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Recipe #2: Pumpkin Cheesecake

This cheesecake is smooth and light with a slightly sweet, slightly sour finish. You can either make it as two 9-inch pies or one spring form cake as the recipe advises. The cheesecake does take a long time in the oven, but could be made a few days in advance and refrigerated. Completely cool the cake before refrigerating. If you wrap it in foil or plastic before it is cool, condensation can drip on top of the pie and make the sour cream look thin.

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/2 c. melted butter

1/4 c. granulated sugar

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling:

24 oz. cream cheese

1 c. granulated sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

15 oz. canned pumpkin

2/3 c. evaporated milk

2 lg. eggs

2 Tbsp. Rumford Cornstarch

1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Pumpkin Cheesecake Topping:

2 c. sour cream

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

To prepare the crust:

Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and press into a 9-inch spring form pan or two 9-inch pie pans.

To prepare the filling:

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, white and brown sugar and eggs. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, cornstarch and spices. Add to cream cheese mixture. Pour into prepared crust(s).

To prepare the topping:

Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Bake for about 65 to 70 minutes at 350° F. Remove from oven, spoon topping mixture over cake(s). Return to 350° F oven and bake for additional 5 minutes.

Recipe #3: Pumpkin Cake

This pumpkin cake is a mix of two batters: a cream cheese and a pumpkin batter. It is very mild and not overly pumpkin tasting. One thing I liked about this recipe is that you don’t have to worry about portioning out the pumpkin batter evenly, the cream cheese filling bakes up just fine. The end result is a beautiful layered cake dotted with chopped pecans.

Cream Cheese Filling:

2 Tbsp. butter

1/2 c. granulated sugar

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 Tbsp. Rumford Cornstarch

1 egg, beaten

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. milk

2 eggs

Pumpkin Batter:

1 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. butter melted

1 c. canned pumpkin

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. Rumford Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Clabber Girl Baking Soda

1 c. chopped pecans

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

To prepare filling:

Combine ingredients for filling mixture; set aside.

To prepare batter:

Beat together eggs, sugar, pumpkin and butter. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture; stir in nuts.

In a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, pour 1/2 of batter into bottom, spread it out to coat the bottom completely (about ½-inch thick). Top with filling mixture; pour the other half of batter on top.

It’s perfect camping weather! That time of year when the days are warm and the nights are cool. It’s perfect for a bowl of chili and perfect for that all-American messy treat . . . S’mores! But, if you are anything like me, I don’t want to wait for a camping trip to have S’mores. I may make S’mores on a random Tuesday afternoon or enjoy one on the couch as a midnight snack.

I love the elements of a S’more and how they work together to make that perfect treat. Crunchy graham crackers, chocolate, and gooey toasty marshmallows. Each ingredient brings an important element to the table. But, of course, I can’t help but play with it a little bit!

This recipe is my version of a S’more. The Biscoff cookie is an elevated version of a graham cracker. It’s crispy and crunchy like a graham cracker but, has notes of ginger and more complexity. The marshmallows are replaced with a home-made salted vanilla marshmallow cream. It’s creamy and sweet and salty and messy and delicious. For the chocolate, I used a high-quality European chocolate. And, to top it off, I added candied orange peel. It pairs so well with the Biscoff cookie and adds a slight note of sweet-bitter that plays really well with the chocolate.

This recipe is designed so that you can make it indoors. But, all the ingredients travel well so, they could easily go outdoors with you to be assembled by the fire. Enjoy!

S’mores Recipe

Candied Orange Peel

3 medium oranges
2 cups sugar + ½ cup sugar for dusting
1 cup water

Combine the 2 cups of sugar and water in a medium pot. Heat over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.
Meanwhile, using a vegetable peeler, peel strips of skin from the oranges being careful not to get the white pith.
Add the orange peel to the simple syrup and simmer for about 40 minutes.
Drain the orange peel and toss in the remaining ½ cup of sugar. Lay candied orange strips out on a wire rack and allow to cool and air dry. Orange peel can be stored in dusting sugar in airtight container for up to two weeks.

Combine the water, sugar, and corn syrup in saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer the mixture, not stirring, until it reaches 240F on a candy thermometer.

Meanwhile, in a stand mixer combine the egg whites and cream of tartar. Whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

When the sugar mixture reaches 240F take off of heat. With the stand mixture running on low, drizzle the hot liquid into the egg whites. Once all the liquid is incorporated, add the vanilla and salt. Beat the mixture for another minute or so until smooth and shiny.

Marshmallow cream can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Spread a small spoonful of marshmallow cream on a Biscoff cookie. Top with broken pieces of chocolate.
Spread a small spoonful of marshmallow cream on a second Biscoff cookie and place on top of first Biscoff cookie.
With a kitchen torch, burn the exposed marshmallow on the top and on the sides.
Top with a candied orange peel. Enjoy!

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